The Internet plays a critical role in informing individuals about society, politics, business, and the environment. So much so that it has been said that the digital divide makes the segment of society on the ''right side'' of the divide (the digitally endowed group) better off and that on the ''wrong side'' (the digitally challenged group) worse…

The paper examines e-government development in Africa. This study is based on the Cape Gateway project in South Africa, a leading e-government initiative on the continent. We observe that African countries have jumped on the e-government band wagon by looking mostly at the benefits without a clear risk assessment. We argue that African countries…

Discusses recent government policies that have led to increased problems of public access to information in general, and federal information in particular. Actions taken by the American Library Association are described, and suggestions are made for lobbying efforts by individuals. (CLB)

Describes activities of the Council on Competitiveness under the leadership of Vice President Dan Quayle. Regulatory interference, legislative projects, and policy proposals for special interests that have benefited business and industry are described; refusals to comply with the Freedom of Information Act are discussed; and recommendations for…

Identifies issues pertaining to federal information that need to be addressed by a national information policy; discusses the failure of the federal government to formulate such a policy, and the reasons for that failure; and describes the author's proposed Government Information Act. (CLB)

The seven articles in this symposium review the Office of Technology Assessment report, Informing the Nation: Federal Information Dissemination in an Electronic Age. Symposium contributors comment on the recommendations and conclusions of the report, and offer suggestions to improve the federal information policy system. (CLB)

Examines development and evolution of Canadian government information policy in response to issues of preservation of data, information industry involvement in government data development and marketing, role of Crown copyright, and public access to government information in electronic formats. Six key information policy instruments are also…

Summarizes recent developments in information technology research and development, telecommunication services, telephone manufacturing, telecommunication networks, information processing, and U.S. import/export policy. It is concluded that government regulation as a policy strategy depends on how one defines national security. (Author/CLB)

A series of eight articles explores the impact of national security powers on government information policy and practice. Topics discussed include: the Freedom of Information Act; recommended standards for security classification; federal legislation dealing with national security; and national controls on scientific communication. (CLB)

Exploration of major causes underlying the growing amount of classified national security information examines both recent and perennial tendencies. The consequences of this growth for public access, constitutional checks and balances, and changes in the classification system and product are assessed, and corrective measures available to Congress…

Analyzes the utility of policy principles advanced by professional associations for public access to government information. The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), the Information Industry Association (IIA), and the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) urge the adoption of principles for the dissemination of public…

Identifies and discusses key issues relating to federal information dissemination in an electronic environment and describes a study of these issues being carried out by the Office of Technology Assessment at the request of congressional committees. Opportunities for interested persons and organizations to participate in the study are described.…

Discusses the problem of how to amass and organize large volumes of global change research data. Public policy issues relating to U.S. data and information management, technological challenges, proposed digital data generation and collection activities, and other data management activities are covered. (58 references) (KRN)

Explores the public policy issues raised by the electronic collection and dissemination of Federal government information from the perspectives of Congress, the Executive Branch, the private sector, and the user community. Lists of selected references and texts of relevant Office of Management and Budget source documents are provided. An Update on…